OZ Arts Names Mark Murphy Executive and Artistic Director and Announces More Than $220,000 in Recent Grants for Artistic Programming and New Artistic Residencies
As Artistic Director since 2019, Murphy helped the contemporary art and performance center launch new strategies that more than doubled programming and attendance, leading to new awards of local, state and national grants
Nashville, TN – August 17, 2020 – Contemporary art and performance center OZ Arts Nashville today announced Mark Murphy as its Executive & Artistic Director, expanding his former role as Artistic Director since late 2018. The appointment coincides with the announcement of a significant increase in grant funding from the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, including its largest operating grant to date and the only awarded Creation Project Support grant for the 20/21 season and fiscal year. OZ Arts also recently received increased awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts Commission.
The expanded funding allows Murphy and the OZ Arts team to oversee the growth of program and education initiatives to support local, regional, and national artists who are creating and presenting adventurous performances in OZ Arts’ unique warehouse in West Nashville. New initiatives include an artist in residence program that allows the Nashville-based team of composer Dave Ragland and choreographer Shabaz Ujima to develop and premiere their ambitious new production STEAL AWAY, which is inspired by the tradition of African American Spirituals. The residency and expanded production are made possible in part by the awarded Creation Grant from the Metro Nashville Arts Commission.
OZ Arts’ Co-founder and President, Tim Ozgener, said that Murphy’s expanded role with the organization comes at a time when it’s navigating exciting, as well as unique and unforeseen, situations. OZ Arts is in the final phase of repairing tornado damage to its building while preparing to announce a series of cultural, live and virtual programs designed to utilize the building in creative ways and to ensure that audiences and artists are safe during the unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic.
Ozgener, who co-founded the organization with his father in the former CAO cigar warehouse, said that it was clear that Murphy was a great match for the next phase of OZ Arts’ growth as soon as Murphy began programming the ambitious 19/20 season, which he started planning while still programming a season of cutting-edge events for REDCAT in Los Angeles. “Mark is highly regarded among national and international contemporary arts organizations and has a successful background in developing institutional strategic goals,” Ozgener said. “His leadership will continue to carry us forward through a new period of growth and impact, while reaffirming our vision of being an inspiring destination for diverse audiences to enjoy world-class, innovative contemporary art experiences.”
While creating the 2019/20 season, Murphy helped OZ reimagine its programs and revamp its business models to focus on further supporting infrastructure for diverse artists in the region while also presenting influential, world-class artists from throughout the US and abroad. Despite the season being cut short by COVID-19, the number of performances increased by more than 50% over the previous season. Lower ticket prices increased access to the community and more than 100 diverse regional artists engaged in premiering risk-taking work. OZ Arts also doubled its attendance, hosted its first international artists from Brazil, Chile, and Japan and expanded programs for education and community engagement.
Murphy draws on his experience as the Founding Executive Director of REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater), which opened in 2003 and quickly became one of California’s most influential centers for international contemporary art, performance, film and media in downtown Los Angeles. Prior to opening REDCAT, he served as the Artistic Director for Seattle’s renowned presenter On the Boards for more than 15 years. He has also served as Chairman of the Choreographer’s Fellowship Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, was a Founding Board Member of the National Performance Network, an advisor to the National Dance Project, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Japan Foundation’s Performing Arts Program.
“It is an honor to help lead OZ Arts through its next exciting chapter and to be part of Nashville’s vibrant renaissance,” says Murphy. “We’ve proven that OZ is a nimble organization which is able to change and grow during a time when all arts organizations need to able to adapt to unusual changes in the field and in society. Despite being relatively young, OZ is well respected as an important partner in the national and international network of arts centers focused on the future – the evolution of diverse and contemporary performing arts, and visual and media art.”
OZ Arts is unique in the region for its focus on contemporary and interdisciplinary forms, with an emphasis on contemporary dance, performance and media art by diverse artists from Nashville and beyond, including influential artists from throughout the region and the US. Founded in 2013 by the Ozgener family, its programming is grounded in the mission to celebrate artists pushing the boundaries and to lean toward the cutting-edge.
About OZ Arts Nashville
Founded in 2013, OZ Arts Nashville has quickly established itself as one of the Southeast’s most influential and respected producers and presenters focused on the creation and presentation of significant performing and visual art works by diverse cultural visionaries who are making vital contributions to the evolution of contemporary culture. Through performances, exhibitions, and community events, OZ Arts focuses on producing and presenting the work of local and visiting artists who reflect our diverse society, utilize new artistic forms and technology in creative ways, and provide opportunities for meaningful engagement with audiences, students and cultural and civic leaders. OZ Arts’ unique creative warehouse has developed a reputation as a major national and regional laboratory for experimentation and a home for contemporary dance and performance. More than 50,000 audience members have been introduced to adventurous artists from around the world since the organization opened, and hundreds of local and regional artists have used OZ’s 10,000 square-foot warehouse theater to develop new works.